Its in the details

The place where I live in Mexico consists of 3 apartments. Two of the apartments (one of which I occupy) are essentially a duplex. The third apartment is in the back of the lot and was designed as an artist studio. Currently, the artist studio is being used as an office by two photographers. Last Wednesday (I know, its has taken me a while to actually sit down and write this), one of the photographers invited me to the opening of his art show at a gallery more towards the center of town. Considering I see the photographer everyday, I thought I better drag myself across town to his opening.

The opening was from 7-10pm and it should have taken me about 30 minutes on the metro to get there. I left my house at 7:30 with plenty of time to spare. Mexico City reserves the first 2 trains on the metro for just women and children from 4pm to 8pm. So when I got the metro I took advantage of this and got on one of the reserved trains. Now, I don't know what it is about men, but my sense of security on the metro increases about 10 fold when there are no men on my train. It has less to do with someone robbing or violating me or and more to do with the fact the men get angry very easily causing words and often pushes then punches to be exchanged. Rarely does this occur between women. In any case, I thought I was on my way.

Then the train stopped . . . for 20 minutes and not at a stop either. The trains don't have a/c so when its not moving, which causes at least air flow, it gets extremely stuffy and a bit claustrophobic inside the trains. By the time the train got to the next stop it was after 8pm and men pushed their way onto the previous all female trains. The metro was PACKED with people. We finally got moving and eventually arrived at the next stop. More people pushed their way onto the train. When the doors tried to close, they couldn't. Some men started to exchange words about who was blocking the door from shutting, etc. and a couple pushes were exchange. After 15 minutes, the train was still stopped and I couldn't deal anymore so I pushed my way off the train and figured I would just take a taxi to the opening.

Upon exiting the metro station, one of the women that had been in the same train car as me approached me. We both complained about how slow the metro was. She offered to share a taxi with me to the next metro station where we could get on another metro line that would bring us both to our destinations. It was evident that we had to get a taxi right away because more and more people were opting to take a taxi rather than wait for the metro to get going again. We flagged down a taxi and were on our way to the next station.

I offered to pay the taxi ride since the smallest bill I had on me was 100 pesos (about $10) and no change. The cab ride probably took about 10 minutes and the meter said the cost was 15 pesos (about $1.50, yes taxis are super cheap here by US standards). I gave the taxi driver my 100 and he immediately asked if I had any change. Yup, here in Mexico it is often difficult to get change for a 100 peso bill. Just imagine in the US some store or taxi driver saying they didn't have change for $10. But it happens all the time to me here. Luckily, the woman I was with saw this coming and already had 15 pesos waiting. I felt bad that she had to pay the taxi ride because to me, 15 pesos is nothing. But most people commute on the metro in Mexico City because it costs 2 pesos (yes, that is 20 cents). Commuting by any other means (taxi, personal car, and even some of the buses) is just too expensive for many people. Whether or not 15 pesos was a lot for this woman to pay I do not know, but it still bothered me that I was unable to pay the fare.

The least I could do though was pay for her entrance into the metro station with my card. A whole 2 pesos. In any case, the next metro line we took was rather empty and I was able to have a good conversation with the woman I shared the taxi with. Turns out last Wednesday happened to be some saint's day and everyone was going to a specific church on the previous metro line we were on. They essentially offer the saint a doll and in return, the saint is supposed to grant them a wish. This country is extremely religious and these types of things are a huge part of their culture. I will save my comments on what I think about religion in this country for another time.

At the end of the metro line, the woman and I would be going our separate ways. We finally introduced ourselves by name. Claudia walked me to the metro line I wanted to get on and we exchanged phone numbers. I was very grateful for her looking after me. It is very easy to plan a trip across the city by metro but if something goes wrong and you are forced to go out onto the street to find another means to get to your destination, you are at a complete lost to where you exactly are and what direction you even want to go in. This city is just so large and the streets are not gridded. Think of Boston, not Manhattan. With Claudia's help though, I was reoriented and on my way. It just goes to show that there are people out there that do things out of the goodness of their heart and for no other reason.

I arrived at the opening at about 9:15pm. Unfortunately, the opening was rather disappointing. There were approximately 10 photos, none of which caught my attention. I stayed maybe 15 minutes and caught a taxi home, which cost me 40 pesos ($4). Sometimes its just better to be fresas (snobby or stuck up) and take a taxi.

The point is, I often don't mention the little details of everyday life here. But these little details are what make up my life here in Mexico. The small details about the metro reserving 2 trains for only women and children, the fact that no one ever has change for $10, the large differences between men and women in this city (and in general), the generosity of others, how big and overwhelming Mexico City is, etc.

And speaking of the little details, as of May 1st (I think it was), Mexico City no longer allows smoking in any closed public areas. YEAH!!!! This means all the bars, discos, clubs, restaurants, etc. are smoke free.